Dying Alley
by MuggleBeene
Summary: Rose Weasley thinks that Diagon Alley is the most boring place ever, since the 'Old V Guy' is gone. Her Uncle Bill helps shed a little light on the subject in a most Weasley-ish way. Written for Teachers' Lounge Forum Iron Fic Competition with a secret ingredient of "Diagon Alley."


Dying Alley

_2016_

Rose Weasley stood in the corner of the shop and looked at her father, with his hand on her brother's shoulder by the secondhand broomsticks, and she wanted nothing more than to duck out the door and walk down stodgy old Diagon Alley to Muggle London. That wasn't possible, though, as it was 'Daddy's Day Out' with her and Hugo, they had left as soon as the shops opened that morning, and when she'd tried sneaking away earlier, in one of the first Quidditch shops, she got a sharp glance. Now, with her nose pressed up against the glass she exhaled sharply, fogging up the glass, and with her index finger she began writing letters, in reverse, of course, so a passersby would take notice. It was just her luck that it was one of her relatives that actually did notice.

As the door opened the bell rang loudly, causing everyone in Broomstix to glance up to see the newcomer. Rose winced silently and tried to disappear, backing up against the display of Quidditch robes and then standing in the middle of the rack. She wished for her Uncle Harry's invisibility cloak because a hand reached into the rack, touched her curly hair and then settled on her shoulder.

"Rosie?"

With a sigh Rose eased her way through the cloaks and stood in front of her Uncle Bill. He winked at her and then turned to nod at her father. Hugo and her father waved and turned back to the shop attendant, who held a broomstick in his hand.

"How long have they been at it?" Bill glanced down at his niece. "From what I read on the window I'm guessing this isn't the first place today."

Rose's shoulders sagged. "We've been to three places today, all Quidditch."

"No Fortescue's or Flourish an' Blotts', eh?"

"No!" Rose rolled her eyes. "Not even Obscurus Books. I hate Diagon Alley. Nothing exciting ever happens here."

Bill peered down at Rose, debated for a moment and then raised an eyebrow. "Give me a minute."

Without another word her Uncle Bill walked over to her dad and started talking to him. They glanced back at her for a minute, her dad looked at his watch and then gestured for Rose to join him for a second.

"Ok, Rose, guess you're bored, eh? Bill said you waved at him in the window, so what're the rules?"

"Don't tell mum?"

"Smart girl." He shook his head affirmatively. "But stick with Bill an' don't go off on your own."

"Daaad." Rose sighed. "It's just Diagon Alley. I'm almost eleven, I've been coming here forever, and nothing exciting happens here. It's the same old boring shops. I'll be fine. Honestly."

"Yeah, right. Just stick with Bill and we'll meet up back at Gringotts, ok? Right."

"Gringotts?" Rose's eyes went wider as she glanced over at her shoulder at her uncle, who smiled and jerked his head towards the door. She hurried over to him, a jangle of excitement going through her. She'd always loved accompanying her parents to Gringotts but they _never_ let her ask all the questions she wanted to ask, and there was so much she wanted to see...

Bill looked at her, a hint of a smirk forming on his face as he led her out of the shop. "Ok, Rosie, what does your Dad always say?"

"Don't tell mum."

He chuckled. "Right, but for today, I'm suspending that rule. When we're finished with what I have in mind, I definitely want you to tell your mum. I won't tell her, though, that you wrote 'Dying Please Help' on the window at Broomstix."

"Oh thank Merlin."

"Right. On we go, then." Bill stepped around one of the stalls that were everywhere on Diagon Alley, put his hand on Rose's shoulder and gently pointed her towards Gringotts.

-ooo-

Rose sat in her Uncle Bill's office, in one of the chairs across from his desk, while he looked through a big book with a lot of tiny lines. She knew it was a ledger, she'd helped her Aunt Angelina at the Diagon Alley triple W store one day last summer, copying amounts from receipts and invoices into the ledger. But Bill's ledger was much different; instead of the plain leather this one had gold corners, gold lettering and was possibly the thickest book she'd ever seen. Suddenly she felt herself rise in the air and let out a small yelp of surprise.

"Ah, sorry about that, should've warned you." Bill waved a hand in her direction. "It'll level out ...there. It's stopped, hasn't it?"

"Yes." She held a firm grip on the chair arms. "What was that?"

"Leveling enchantment, it makes it so you're eye level with me, that way if you're shorter than I am you won't feel..."

She nodded quickly. "So the goblins won't feel too short."

"Eye contact. That's the important part, Rose, especially with goblins. Treat them as you would anyone else, and how would you like it with everybody looking down on you?"

She pursed her lips. "I'm getting taller."

"Of course you are, that's why it didn't kick off right away. Now, are we going to sit her all day and talk about my chair or do you want to know what..."

"Sorry." Rose gave him an apologetic smile. "I can't help it."

"You come by it honestly, that's for sure." Bill picked up his wand from the desk, waved it at a small globe fixed by the door and turned its color to green. Almost immediately the office door opened and a goblin stood in the doorway.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"

"Could I have the Diagon Alley records from 27 December, 1999?"

The goblin nodded. "Yes, sir. Condensed, Summary, or Original with Appendices and Artifacts?"

Bill hesitated for a moment. "Better do Summary, I doubt Condensed will work for this project. Oh, and can you ask Mr. Sliphedge to stop by my office if he's not busy? Thank you."

The goblin turned and left, the office doors closing behind him.

"All right, Rose, you're starting Hogwarts next year, right? Binns is still teaching, so I doubt you'll get anything from him. Word of advice; don't mention him in Gringotts. He's not a popular person and being dead doesn't get him out of anything as far as the goblins are concerned. I know that you've heard about what happened in the Alley when your parents and Harry..."

Rose sank back and let her head fall against the top of the chair. "I know all about that. I've read about it, heard about it from everybody, it's all old people live for, all anyone wants to talk about is when Mum, Dad and Uncle Harry took care of the old V guy. I know, I get it, he was a bad man but that was a long time ago. But now nothing happens. It's the same stuff. Just shops, nothing exciting ever happens. It's boring. Boring, boring, boring. That's why I wrote I was dying. They should call it Dying Alley." She waited for her uncle to tell her she was being a silly little girl, but it didn't happen. She lifted her head off the chair and looked at her uncle. "Bill?"

He shrugged. "For the most part, you're right. It is boring, but boring is good for business. Ah, hold on." He held up his hand. "There was one time, after the 'old V guy' was gone that things were very exciting. There was almost a riot. People spent time in hospital afterwards, the papers were full of things, the Minister for Magic had to..." He glanced up to see the globe next to his door turn green. "You'll see. Now be polite."

The door opened and two goblins walked into the office. The first one was almost hidden by a large book, but it was obvious that he was much younger than the other goblin, whose hair was completely white and walked much slower, as he used a gold tipped walking stick. The young goblin put the book on Bill's desk, nodded and left the room. The old goblin glanced at Rose for a moment before turning to Bill.

"Mr. Weasley, I understand you wish to speak to me."

Bill nodded. "Yes, thank you for making time this morning. Let me introduce you to my niece. Mr. Sliphedge, this is Rose Weasley. Rose, Mr. Sliphedge is the Director of Archives."

Rose got off of the chair and extended her hand to the goblin. "Very nice to meet you, sir."

The goblin shook her hand. "And you, Miss Weasley." He gave her a toothy smile and turned to Bill. "And how may I assist you today, Mr. Weasley?"

"I've asked for the Diagon Alley records from 27 December, 1999 to be brought. Summary Accounts, that is. I'd like to employ her for the day, to visit some of the shops in the Alley to verify that our Summary records are correct. Since this task falls into the Archive branch, and you have authority over all personnel, I need your approval for this one day position."

Rose watched as Bill and the goblin looked at each other for a moment. She knew that they were up to something, it was obvious. She wasn't a child. She wanted to roll her eyes and tell her uncle that she would just Floo home and stay there and read...but she was in Gringotts, something _had_ happened in the Alley in 1999 and she was going to work for Gringotts? She looked over to the goblin. "Excuse me, sir, but I need to ask my uncle a question."

"Of course." The goblin bobbed his head in agreement. "Ask away."

She turned to Bill. "How much are you paying me and does that include lunch?"

Bill and the director both laughed. "See, Mr. Sliphedge? Perfect mix of her parents." He turned to Rose. "I suppose I can set your salary since this is my project. Do you have any figure in mind?"

"I saw the display at Twilfitt and Tatting's earlier. A black leather jacket." Rose wanted to bite her bottom lip but her Uncle George said it was an obvious tell of hers. Twilfitt and Tatting's was the clothing shop she'd always wanted to go into and pick out something just for herself, like Victoire probably does, but he mum never would let her, especially the black leather jacket.

Bill nodded, took up a quill and started scribbling something on a piece of parchment. The whole time he scribbled he spoke to Mr. Sliphedge in gobbledegook, never looking up. Eventually he put down the quill and looked across the desk at Rose. "I think that can be arranged."

-ooo-

Henrietta Grant heard the door open and glanced up, hopeful, but instead felt her spirit sink. Little girls don't book holidays and she needed to make quota. Putting on her professional face she slid the gossip magazine under a stack of brochures and assumed her 'pleasant to everyone' face. "Welcome to WizWorld Tours. How may I help...well, that's..." she pointed to the badge on Rose's jumper "...you're working for Gringotts at your age?"

"Temporary. Just a one day thing." Rose shrugged. "My uncle's idea."

"Oh, ok." Henrietta motioned towards the chair alongside her desk. "And how may I assist Gringotts today?"

"It's weird but I have to go around the Alley and ask people if they remember what happened the day after Boxing Day on 1999. Oh, and make sure Gringotts has the papers right. Something about accounts or..."

Henrietta smiled and put a hand to her mouth. "Of course, it was before you were born. How old are you?"

"Almost eleven." Rose sat straight in her chair and assumed the manner like her mum did when people talked badly about house elves. "But what does that have to do..."

"Sweetie, you really don't know what happened, do you?"

"No!" Rose let out an exasperated noise and almost, but not quite, slammed her book on the desk. "That's why I'm asking you, and I can't see what's in this book until you grant permission for me, some stupid reason..."

"I grant..." Henrietta inched forward in her chair. "Please excuse my manners, Henrietta Grant." She held out her hand.

Rose shook the old woman's hand. "Rose Weasley."

"I thought you looked familiar. I grant Rose Weasley permission to verify accounts. Now, dearie, what was that last thing, you were in the papers..."

"Mum did something with parents of Muggleborns, I don't remember."

"Right, right." Henrietta glanced at the clock. "This may take some time; would you care for a cup of tea? I'll go fetch the tea, why don't you read for a bit, dearie."

Rose gave a shrug and opened the book. All of the shops were listed alphabetically in the book starting with 2nd Hand Brooms, that stupid place. She flipped past Flourish and Blotts, Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions and Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, finally lighting on WizWorld Tours.

_WizWorld Tours_

_59 Diagon Alley_

_Located in the former TerrorTours facility, WizWorld Tours documented the following damages on 27 December, 1999._

_1 Broken Window (Main window with store lettering)_

_2 Broken Windows (2 side windows)_

_1 Broken desk (irreparably damaged, magical repair impossible)_

_1 Floo Connection severed_

_201 Travel brochures destroyed (fire, water damage, spell damage)_

_General water damage_

"Here's your tea, love. How do you take it?" Henrietta sat a teacup in front of Rose on the desk.

"Milk and one sugar." She looked at Henrietta. "Can I have two sugars?"

"Of course." Henrietta looked at the book in Rose's lap. "Oh, that was a day, let me tell you."

"Would you, please?" Rose put in the sugars and added the milk. "Nobody will tell me anything, they just expect me to know, like I'm some great bloody idiot for not knowing. Oh, sorry. Language."

The old lady sat back in her chair, took off her glasses and let them hang about her neck on the thin silver chair. "I'll tell you, but you should really ask your aunt and uncle."

"Uncle Bill and Aunt Vic?"

"No, love, Harry and Ginny, of course."

"They broke your shop?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes, yes they did, but not really. All the other people, when they saw that engagement diamond on Ginny's hand...you have to remember times were different then. We'd all come out the other side of the second Dark Lord war and your uncle, he was..."

Rose's tone was flat and expressionless. "The Boy Who Lived."

"That and more. He was a sign of all that's good in the world, and him getting married? That was news, but engaged to your auntie? That was news, indeed. It was like one of those princes from the Muggle stories, happy ever after. It was the start of happy ever after, an' we needed that. Ray of sunshine after years of rain, it was." Henrietta looked at the clock, smiled and turned back to Rose. "How would you like to see a memory?"

"You've got a pensieve?" Rose's eyebrows shot upwards. "Mum said those are really rare."

"The good ones are, that's true, but this is a shopkeeper's pensieve. Only works here in the shop and only for two people. Standard Ministry issue, Auror department installed them. Makes thieves think twice about nicking anything from the shop or anything funny, one of your father's ideas if I remember right. Now, just give me a moment, I have to remember clearly."

"Really? Almost a riot?"

"What's that band of boys that sing and dance together that's popular? My granddaughter loves them."

"You mean the Casters? Ohmymerlin they're so cute!"

"How would you feel if one of those boys showed up here today? It was almost like that. So, Miss Rose Weasley of Gringotts, lets look at a memory."

-ooo-

Bill Weasley sat at his desk, sipped a cup of strong coffee and read the morning Gringotts reports. He had just made it through the details on a curse breaking job in Wales when the globe by his door flashed green several times in rapid succession. He was willing to wager fifty Galleons on who would be so insistent as to demand entry to his office at half eight in the morning, and of course he was right. She purposely opened his doors, walked straight over to one of his guest chairs and sat down, not even batting an eye when the cushion enchantment began lifting her up into the air.

"Good morning, Hermione. What can Gringotts do..."

"Oh stuff it, Bill. What on earth were you thinking, sending my ten year old daughter to all the shops in Diagon Alley by herself? And exactly what job could she do for Gringotts in less than a day's worth that would pay her enough to buy a ten Galleon leather jacket from Twilfitt and Tatting's?"

"She had on a Gringotts badge, she was fine. Besides, we sent one of the trainee goblins from Recovery to follow her."

"Recovery?"

"When someone borrows gold from Gringotts and doesn't pay us back we have to recover items."

"So they have to be stealthy. That doesn't make it right, William."

"She learned something, didn't she?" Bill leaned back in his chair. He'd known Hermione for years and thought it was time to have a bit of fun. He could always apologize to Ron later. "You know where I found her, don't you? Broomstix, bored out of her bushy-haired mind."

Hermione tapped a finger on his desk and stared at him. "Her hair is curly, mine is bushy. There's a difference, William."

"That's not the point, she was going on about how bored she was, and I get that as Ron's always been boring, I'm amazed you've put up with it for this long, but she said that nothing ever happens in Diagon Alley since the _old V guy_. Yeah, that's what she called him." He watched as Hermione's breathing slowed, waited until she stopped steaming a little bit less and then continued. "So I figured I'd send her off to do one job and maybe learn a little bit about what a better place the Alley is since Voldemort is gone. You know she isn't going to learn anything at Hogwarts about it from Binns."

She snorted. "He's absolutely useless."

"Exactly." Bill nodded. "So what'd she find out, really? Sure, there was a near riot in the Alley when Harry and Ginny showed up, engaged. You remember what happened, people went mental; everyone came down to the Alley to congratulate them, the Floo connections were overwhelmed..." He looked at her and waited.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, of course I remember, Ron and I were with them. Someone came into Gringotts and said there was a riot and the new anti-apparition wards were enacted. The crowd was trapped here."

"And everyone wanted a piece of Ginny and Harry, not in a bad way, but with that many people..."

"Must I finish your sentences, Bill? It was a madhouse. We tried to get away from the crowd by going from shop to shop, but all that did was cause the crowd to follow us."

"Mm-hmm...she ask you any questions last night?"

"Yes, quite a few. We talked about what it was like during the war." Hermione sat back in her chair. "That was your main goal, wasn't it?"

"Only way to explain exactly why everyone was so happy for Ginny and Harry was to understand exactly how bad it was before. She's heard about it all her life but she's old enough now to understand. There's a big difference between Voldemort and 'the V guy' isn't there? Yeah, the Alley is boring now but that's a good thing. Better than boarded up shops, closed up shops, people missing. You know I'm right."

"Ten Galleons, though? Honestly? You'll spoil her."

"Eh." Bill shrugged. "You know the kind of damage Fleur and the girls can do, I'm used to it. Besides, when Rose came back she had a lot of questions for the goblins about their records. Smart girl, chip off the old block. You never know, she might work for the bank some day.

"Fine, but you should be prepared. Hugo said that next time he wanted to work for you. Apparently he's under the assumption that he can work a day for you and make ten Galleons."

"Why would he need ten Galleons, what's he going to do, buy another used broom?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Another?"

"Yeah, Ron got him one yesterday at Broomstix, didn't he? Looked like a used Cleansweep, one of the older ones. Be perfect for him to learn on."

"Goodbye, William. Thank you for explaining, but next time please Floo me first."

Hermione got up and walked out the door, the muttered words "eight years old" and "what was he thinking" drifted back to Bill. He laughed as he imagined his brother's face when a certain conversation happened later that night. Or perhaps at lunch. He pushed himself back, walked over to robe rack and pulled off a public Gringotts robe, mentioning to the goblin outside his door that he had an errand to run and would be back shortly.

He walked down Diagon Alley, taking it all in with somewhat fresh eyes. Flashes of what it used to be, back then, came before his eyes and faded. He nodded to a few people, waved at others, and eventually made his way down to Broomstix. With the cool morning air it was still there, visible on the glass. He opened the door and heard the bell ring.

"Good morning, ah, Bill. Morning."

"Morning, Albert."

"What can I do for you?"

Bill looked over at the brooms that Ron and Hugo were interested in the day before. "Did my brother buy a broom for Hugo?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "No, no he didn't. That used Cleansweep would be perfect for the boy as it's an older model, great beginner broom. Enjoyed visiting with your niece yesterday, by the by. That was some day in the Alley, a very interesting day."

"Glad to hear that, she's a bright girl. Tell you what..." Bill reached into his robe and pulled out a jingling bag. "...I'll give you ten Galleons for that Cleansweep. Can you have that delivered tonight around, say, seven?"

Albert shifted his weight back and forth for a minute. "I don't think I can go that low. Twelve?"

"Twelve with delivery. Deal." Bill put out his hand and shook Albert's hand, but didn't let it go right away. "And if anyone asks who bought the broom, just say Mr. Weasley."

"Of course, of course." Albert smiled. "I'll bring you a receipt."

As the shopkeeper left to do his paperwork Bill knelt down, exhaled deeply on the pane of glass and wiped it clean with his sleeve.


End file.
